NJPW reveals participants for G1 Climax 31
NJPW has revealed the participants for this year’s G1 Climax.
G1 Climax 31 will begin at the Edion Arena in Osaka on Saturday, September 18. It will conclude with the finals taking place at Budokan Hall in Tokyo on Thursday, October 21.
The participants for each block were revealed during Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome night two on Sunday:
A Block —
- Kota Ibushi
- Tomohiro Ishii
- Toru Yano
- Shingo Takagi
- Tetsuya Naito
- Zack Sabre Jr.
- The Great-O-Khan
- KENTA
- Tanga Loa
- Yujiro Takahashi
B Block —
- Hiroshi Tanahashi
- Kazuchika Okada
- Hirooki Goto
- YOSHI-HASHI
- SANADA
- Taichi
- Jeff Cobb
- EVIL
- Tama Tonga
- Chase Owens
Great-O-Khan, Loa, and Owens will be making their G1 debuts in the tournament.
The winner of the A Block will face the winner of the B Block at the G1 finals. The winner of the tournament will receive a briefcase that grants them a shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 16. The briefcase holder will defend the title shot contract between the G1 finals and Wrestle Kingdom.
Takagi is the current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
For the first time in the event’s history, Wrestle Kingdom 16 will be a three-night show. Nights one and two will take place at the Tokyo Dome on Tuesday, January 4 and Wednesday, January 5, 2022. Night three will then be held at the Yokohama Arena on Saturday, January 8.